


A Light in a Hopeless World

by windmill182



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:34:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29186385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windmill182/pseuds/windmill182
Summary: Dreaming is what makes human beings move forward, but what to do when it is taken from you? The future holds the answer that guides our destiny to itself, writing past and present on a single line. Even in the murk, there is always a path that could guide us home. After all, the world was a cruel place that could bring beautiful memories to those who look deeply.
Relationships: Eren Yeager & Original Character(s), Eren Yeager & Original Female Character(s), Eren Yeager & Reader, Eren Yeager/Original Character(s), Eren Yeager/Original Female Character(s), Eren Yeager/Reader, Mikasa Ackerman & Armin Arlert & Eren Yeager & Reader
Kudos: 10





	A Light in a Hopeless World

❝ _In a place full of violence_

_Replete of fear and madness_

_Where men became the monsters they once vowed to defeat_

_A flower was born_

_Breaking through the infertile and hopeless soil_

_Taking down all the walls_

_To let them see, for the first time,_

_The beauty of the world._ ❞

◌◌◌  
  
  


**YEAR 835, SHIGANSHINA DISTRICT**

It was a quiet afternoon. The streets were full of people; some going to the market, others just killing time together, drinking, talking, and having fun. A warm and familiar breeze was present, making the treetops sway while giving a nostalgic air to the city, located in the south of Wall Maria.

Above them, was an orange sun, reflecting its intense glow on the gray, immense walls that surrounded the terrain. In one or two more hours, would be possible to see that same sun setting in the sky, bringing the darkness of night into Shiganshina.

Everything seemed normal.

A couple was getting ready to leave the city and go to their house on the outskirts of the district, in a rural area.

They usually went to the market three days a week, always in the morning, opening one of the many stalls to sell vegetables that they grew at home, closing the place when the night was coming.

"C'mon, Selin. I think we took everything," said the tall, broad-shouldered, thin man with golden hair. He was around 35 years old, but his face carried a dozen expression marks that made him look older, probably from the amount of time that he spent under the sun, planting their harvest.

"I'm here, I'm here, Ferit. We can go now," she spoke with kindness, getting on the wagon and smiling to her husband hurriedly.

Selin was a short and slim woman, probably about the same age as her husband. Her body was slightly marked by delicate curves under the tunic, while the face was framed by light brown hair falling in small waves until the shoulder.

The man glances at her with a loving smile, pulling the reins and giving the signal for the two horses to start moving.

For a few minutes, they advanced in silence, only listening the animals trot while the city was left behind.

It was around 25km to reach the rural area where they lived, which normally took almost one hour traveling.

Again, everything seemed just like any other day.

At least until they found a small, wrapped package next to a tree, near the trail they were taking. It was making a high-pitched noise, similar to a child's cry.

"Ferit, stop the wagon," said the woman when she realized that _it really was a child crying_.

Her husband nodded, doing like she asked. He observed as she got off and started walking to the white package with hesitant steps. Selin bent down, reaching out her right hand to remove the small blanket from the baby's face.

It was a girl. She had a few strands of dark brown hair, matching her small, deep, hazel eyes. Her hands were delicate and clenched tightly, shaking in the air, as she screamed for attention.

Tied to her clothes, was an object that caught Selin's attention: a necklace with a small and graceful light-green gem that she recognized as a peridot – the gemstone of those born in August.

The woman smiled at this, taking the necklace with care, and putting in her coat pocket. Then, she looked at the child. She seemed so adorable, so innocent. In the moment Selin's eyes matched with that endearing, tiny baby, she knew there was no possibility of leaving her there.

With affection, the woman took the girl in her arms and started walking back to the wagon. She looked at her husband with a firm expression, saying, "We can't just leave her on that tree. She will die."

Ferit sighed, looking from his wife's eyes to the small child on her lap. There was something telling him that the woman was right. Taking that girl with them seemed the right thing to do.

In the past, they really wanted to have a child. The couple used to fantasize about a kid growing up in their house, laughing in the dinner table, bringing joy to the ambient, but gave up on that dream after countless frustrations.

He giggled a little, thinking about it.

Maybe this was _faith_. Perhaps that child had fallen from the sky as a gift to them.

"Alright, darling. But she will need a name," Ferit said with a smile, stretching his index finger so the baby could play with it.

The woman looked at the girl for a few minutes, pronouncing, "Her name will be Helena."  
  
  
  
  


** TEN YEARS LATER **

**YEAR 845, SHIGANSHINA DISTRICT**

She sighed for what felt like the tenth time in the last hour, feeling completely bored, with a book opened on her lap. Her eyes looked up to the sky, noticing that the sun was still there, which meant it would take hours before she could go home.

From the wooden crate where the girl was seated, she could see some of the children that lived close to the center of Shiganshina running and playing together. In moments like these, her minds always wandered, imagining how would be if she were one of them.

It wasn't like she didn't felt happy about her life. On the contrary: she was very grateful for having her adoptive parents taking care of her. However, sometimes, she got a little lonely.

Growing up in a rural area greatly reduced her chances of making a lot of friends. Besides, her carefree and curious nature wasn't something the other kids felt attracted to, leading her to pass a lot of time all by herself.

On the other hand, that made her got even more attached to her parents. She was used to wake up really early and go with her adoptive father to the planting, helping him to take care of fruits and vegetables that they grew in their yard. Sometimes, she helped her adoptive mother to clean the house or make food too.

At the afternoon, the girl normally seated under the shade of some tree to read or just observe how beautiful everything seemed to be in the sunlight. It made her wonder what she would find behind those walls, but, of course, that conversation was forbidden, and she learned it in the worst way possible.

_"Mommy, why can't we go outside these walls? I bet there are a lot of beautiful things there!" said the little girl with her elbows on the windowsill, waiting for her parents to finish packing their things so they could go to the center of the district to work._

_Her mother gave a scared look to her father, silently asking him to do something. The man breathed slowly, putting his hands on the shoulders of the girl, making her turn to look at him._

_"Helena, you can't say these things!" he scolded. "It is forbidden to go there. This is all you have to know."_

_"But father!" the girl started, her eyes widening without comprehending the despair on Ferit's face. "Why is it? We can not pass all our lives locked here! Don't you want to see what it is like out there?"_

_"Ace, listen to me. These walls are here to keep us safe from the horrible monsters out there. If you try to leave to the outside world, you will die! Do you hear me? You can't go there! Promise me you will never say these follies again!" he demanded._

_The fear she saw in her father's and mother's eyes made her shiver. She didn't want to disobey or make them worry, so she nodded, hugging Ferit's waist while crying._

_That day she buried her curiosity within the soul, but it remained alive. Deep down in her heart, she knew that nothing could stop the desire to go to the real world. It felt right, like destiny._

Closing the book that was still on her lap, the girl got up, walking to the place where her mother was packing some boxes of fruit, while her father was attending to customers.

"Hey, mom, do you need help?" she asked, putting one hand on the back of the woman to get her attention.

"Oh?" Selin looked at the girl, smiling. "Don't worry, _Ace_. I can do this. Go for a walk, I know you are bored," she chuckled a little, turning her attention to the apples she was putting in the basket.

Helena only laughed, answering in a cheerful tone, "Okay. But I'll be back quick, in case you or daddy need me."

The woman only nodded, shaking her left hand, saying to her daughter to go. Helena turned around, waving a discreet goodbye to her father, who just smiled in recognition.

With the book under her arm, she started walking to the street, going away from the center of Shiganshina just to see the lake that was nearby.

Everything seemed so beautiful under the innocent eyes of a child. The purity of her uncorrupted soul, still full of dreams and steeped in the ability to desire things, to smile and create memories full of affection was so rare, so unique.

Maybe, if she knew that, she would have cherished more every moment of her childhood. Perhaps she would have given a hug in each one of her parents before going to explore the world inside the walls. She could have said goodbye to every detail at home, every color that she was attached to, detailing everything in her memory.

But, usually, life doesn't give us that. When we see, things are gone and there is no way to recover the details. Our daily memories, sometimes blurred, are what we have to hold on to and remember that those moments were once real.

On that afternoon, she learned that. When her childhood was taken from her, leaving just one book and a necklace behind, she discovered the name and the face of the monsters that were on the other side of the walls.

 ** _Titans_**. They were responsible for the death of her parents. They were responsible for the horror that would never leave her mind.

_"That day, humanity remembered the terror of being ruled by them. The humiliation of being kept in a cage."_

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys! First of all, I would like to say that I have the idea of this book in my head for some time, but now I decided to publish. I really like Eren's character (sadly, I read the manga lol) and I wanted to be able to protect him from the world and himself too, giving him more than pain and hate.
> 
> This book came out of my desire to bring a little hope to such a cruel world. So, I would like to warn that this story will follow the anime and the manga, but, I have some ideas about the role of the original character, also known as the reader, that may change some things in the end.
> 
> Lastly, English is not my native language, so, I'm already apologizing for any mistake. Anyway, I hope you can enjoy! Comments and likes are really welcome too :)


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